A Bury theatre company will present a stage adaptation of a much-loved sitcom in aid of a children’s charity.
All Saints Elton Theatre Company will bring its version of The Vicar of Dibley to the stage in April in support of Comic Relief’s Do Something Funny for Money campaign, which was launched again this month.
The stage play by Ian Gower and Paul Carpenter was adapted from the original, award-winning TV series by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, which starred comedian Dawn French in the lead role.
The story is set in a fictional Oxfordshire village called Dibley, where the new female vicar, Geraldine Granger, shakes up the traditional parish community she finds herself in, and sets out to win them over.
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The play includes favourite characters from the sitcom, including Alice Tinker, Frank Pickle, and the Hortons.
It also features many popular scenes and storylines from different episodes of the TV series.
Co-directors Andy Milthorpe and Rebecca Foster said: “The Vicar of Dibley is a classic 90s comedy series that follows the journey of one of the country’s first female vicars and how she wakes up the sleepy village of Dibley.
“Our amazing cast have worked incredibly hard, and they embody these well-known characters to bring this story to life.”
All Saints was established in 1912 and has a long history of bringing the community together to stage high-quality drama and musical theatre.
Recent productions include Guys and Dolls and Blood Brothers, and the group won a number of awards from the local district branch of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA).
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They also have two upcoming musicals, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Matilda JR, which will both be staged at The Met in Bury in July.
Matilda JR is being performed by All Saints’ thriving youth theatre group, which works with performers aged from six to 16.
The Vicar of Dibley takes place from Wednesday, April 10 to Saturday, April 13 at 7pm with a 2pm Saturday matinee performance.
All performances take place at All Saints House on Orrell Street. More information and tickets are available on Ticket Source.
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